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Author Topic: Hot Rod SE vs. X-Arcade (Opinions Needed)  (Read 4651 times)

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Scott84

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Hot Rod SE vs. X-Arcade (Opinions Needed)
« on: March 24, 2004, 04:59:58 pm »
Hello all,

I have finally have enough extra cash to purchase one of these bad boys. It all comes down to you guys to help me decide  ;D

Ideally, i want an arcade controller that can best authenticate the feel of an arcade for my home computer. Im looking for a controller that will re-create the exact control experience in the arcade for the following games (note these games are the games i would play the most)

Street Fighter
Mortal Kombat
Donkey Kong
Double Dragon
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
The Simpsons Arcade Game
Pac Man

Basically a joystick that can handle complex fighting games (ala street fighter) extremely well, but also can give a nice control to the less complex fighters (ala double dragon)....

I would also love to have good control for the classics like Pacman, Galaga, Donkey Kong, Etc... I know 4ways and 8 ways can be problems.

But between the Hot Rod and the Xarcade which would you reccomend. Please note that X Arcades functionality of playing other systems has no desire from me. Im looking for a MAME Arcade Controller for my computer. One that is easy to hook up and play. The less configuration work, the better.

Does either work without configuration changes? As in, i set it to HOT ROD in mame, and games like street fighter would properly have the right controls just like the arcade? (you know the kicks on the bottom, the punches on the top, what ever it was)...?

Any help from you guys would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks Alot,

- Scott84
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paigeoliver

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Re:Hot Rod SE vs. X-Arcade (Opinions Needed)
« Reply #1 on: March 24, 2004, 05:20:06 pm »
Hot Rod uses better quality components than X-Arcade.

Neither one will play Pac-Man or Donkey Kong very well at all.

I don't know the answer to your configuration question, but REALLY, it only takes a minute in mame to tab out of a game and change your default configs.
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Minwah

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Re:Hot Rod SE vs. X-Arcade (Opinions Needed)
« Reply #2 on: March 24, 2004, 06:16:46 pm »
Both are very quick to setup, and both are very similar in design so will play most of the games you want very well.  As paige said 4-way games are not what these sticks do best  :-\

Note HotRod uses Happ Supers and X-Arcade use a cheaper but similar alternative.  Personally I went for a HotRod, before I built my own :)

Truz

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Re:Hot Rod SE vs. X-Arcade (Opinions Needed)
« Reply #3 on: March 24, 2004, 06:25:39 pm »
well i have an x-arcade and i can vouch for the quality of this thing, but playing older 4 way games on this thing is not as good or precise as if you were using an actual 4 way stick.

That being said buying one of these will only make your frothing demand for an actual cabinet/better cp grow tremendously. I am so wanting a Mame cab of my own and am actually in the market looking for a cab right now.

Chemixtry

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Re:Hot Rod SE vs. X-Arcade (Opinions Needed)
« Reply #4 on: March 24, 2004, 06:37:18 pm »
As soon as I discovered MAME I wanted a joystick to start playing. I opted for the HotrodSE because it was only $99 for a two-player setup ($50) cheeper than X-arcade. It plays all the fighters great! ;D All you have to do in mame is change the line in the mame.ini file to say ctrlr hotrodse. It takes all of 5 seconds.  It is well built and doesn't move around even during gameplay. I am planning to build my own control panel but this has definately kept me happy in the meantime. I don't know why everyone complains about 4-way games with an 8-way joystick. They work fine for me. The guy at Retroblast has a video review of the two joysticks that you might find helpful
http://www.retroblast.com/video.html
Experience is directly proportional to equipment ruined

NoOne=NBA=

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Re:Hot Rod SE vs. X-Arcade (Opinions Needed)
« Reply #5 on: March 24, 2004, 06:57:44 pm »
If you can live with the puke purple color I'd vote for the HotRod, given a choice between the two.
As mentioned above, they use better components, and the price is better.

The worst case scenario I see is that you may not like how the 4-way games play.
If that happens, you'll need to get a 4/8-way stick to replace the one of the sticks.
I'd also use the money you save vs. buying the X-Arcade to buy an overlay to cover up that ugly purple.

paigeoliver

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Re:Hot Rod SE vs. X-Arcade (Opinions Needed)
« Reply #6 on: March 24, 2004, 07:07:50 pm »
I actually always thought the X-Arcade was the uglier of the two.
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Re:Hot Rod SE vs. X-Arcade (Opinions Needed)
« Reply #7 on: March 24, 2004, 07:29:00 pm »
That being said buying one of these will only make your frothing demand for an actual cabinet/better cp grow tremendously. I am so wanting a Mame cab of my own and am actually in the market looking for a cab right now.

I'd tend to agree with that.  To be honest I never played PacMan etc. with my HotRod - I even found keys easier...now I I have some J-Stiks, in my testing it was an absolute joy to eat some dots :)

Chemixtry

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Re:Hot Rod SE vs. X-Arcade (Opinions Needed)
« Reply #8 on: March 24, 2004, 07:50:35 pm »
Quote
If you can live with the puke purple color I'd vote for the HotRod
I don't rememer where I saw it but one guy asked Hanaho to make the top black instead of the usual purple.
Experience is directly proportional to equipment ruined

XtraSmiley

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Re:Hot Rod SE vs. X-Arcade (Opinions Needed)
« Reply #9 on: March 25, 2004, 01:30:27 am »
I'd get.....




neither one.  Go here:  http://www.slikstik.com/

And get something that can do 4 and 8 way and be set up the way you like.
hearingprotectionBIGDOG@yahooBIGDOG.com

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GroovyTuesdaY

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Re:Hot Rod SE vs. X-Arcade (Opinions Needed)
« Reply #10 on: March 25, 2004, 03:29:58 am »
I'd get.....




neither one.  Go here:  http://www.slikstik.com/

And get something that can do 4 and 8 way and be set up the way you like.

Although i would agree , the slikstik does ROCK for that perfect layout, but cost wise....OUCH!!!!  I bought one a little over a year ago and i LOVED it, but a family emergency came up and i needed the cash, so i had to sell it.  :'(

Looking back i think that the prices on their panels is just too much. They are probably the best looking panels out there and they have put alot of time into the design, but the cost to me is just a little high. I mean, they deserve the money they are asking, because it does take alot of time to set up all the wiring and such, so its not that higher cost isn't justified, its just that the high cost isn't justifiable to my wallet lol.

I think the person who started the thread has something a little cheaper in mind then slikstik lol.  There is also the panels from WWW.GAMECAB.COM.
Charlie isn't making much at all off of the panels he makes and he did a really good job for me when i ordered an empty panel from him.
Hell, just order an empty panel from gamecab and buy the parts and build it yourself.  Save alot of money and it isnt hard to do. :)  There is definately plenty of help here at the forums hehe :)

groovY~
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Tiger-Heli

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Re:Hot Rod SE vs. X-Arcade (Opinions Needed)
« Reply #11 on: March 25, 2004, 07:26:16 am »
Hot Rod uses better quality components than X-Arcade.

Neither one will play Pac-Man or Donkey Kong very well at all.

I don't know the answer to your configuration question, but REALLY, it only takes a minute in mame to tab out of a game and change your default configs.
Agreed on all points.

Also, HotRod is currently $50 cheaper.

X-Arcade is compatible with consoles, but that wasn't an issue for you.

X-Arcade is slightly programmable and HotRod is not programmable at all.  This won't matter at all for MAME (MAME can match any controller config you throw at it), but might be an issue if you use other emulators.

Also, I have heard various unconfirmed reports of ghosting/blocking with the X-Arcade and not with the HotRod (search the older posts on this forum).

Otherwise, I would go with the HotRod.
It's not what you take when you leave this world behind you, it's what you leave behind you when you go. - R. Travis.
When all is said and done, generally much more is SAID than DONE.

NoOne=NBA=

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Re:Hot Rod SE vs. X-Arcade (Opinions Needed)
« Reply #12 on: March 25, 2004, 11:22:26 am »
But it's STILL purple.

They called it the "Hot Rod".
You'd think they could have picked a Hot Rod color like Candy Apple Red, or Competition Orange, or Slime Lime?
Plum Crazy would even have been a good choice, if they really HAD to have purple.

But no, they picked pale lavender.

I would agree with GroovyTuesday on the build your own idea, but it didn't sound like that held alot of interest for you.

Stingray

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Re:Hot Rod SE vs. X-Arcade (Opinions Needed)
« Reply #13 on: March 25, 2004, 12:51:46 pm »
I agree with those who said just build your own. My first stand alone controller cost me next to nothing using used parts, and stuff I had laying around. Of course I also agree with this:

Quote
...will only make your frothing demand for an actual cabinet/better cp grow tremendously.

A stand alone controller kept me happy for all of a couple of weeks. I now have a cab with two interchangable control panels and am working on a third. It's a sickness.

-S
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Re:Hot Rod SE vs. X-Arcade (Opinions Needed)
« Reply #14 on: March 25, 2004, 01:08:16 pm »
I've had the X-Arcade two player version for the past two years, and I've been very happy with it.  I grew up in the 70's playing arcade games, and I know that the joysticks and buttons are not quite arcade quality.  That being said, I do believe that they function well, and are a reasonable facsimile.  I actually like the joysticks, because for me, they work well for 8-way joystick style games, but are still playable on the 4-way games (of course a dedicated 4-way stick would be preferred).  In addition, I use this on my Dreamcast as well, with an adapter.  I play fighters too, and I like the x-arcade for them.  Also, at some future point, I can always swap out the joysticks and buttons for some better replacements.

...and no I don't work for x-arcade.  Actually I'd like to get a slikstik, but they are big $$$.

Jim

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Re:Hot Rod SE vs. X-Arcade (Opinions Needed)
« Reply #15 on: March 25, 2004, 02:59:28 pm »
I had an X-Arcade. It worked just fine. Plenty of buttons and it's sturdy. I even switched out some of the pushbuttons. The only thing that pissed me off is that when I had my keyboard hooked up through the XA, I had all sorts of typing problems. It was frustrating. But it was a simple fix; unplug the XA from the PC and plug in the keyboard.

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Re:Hot Rod SE vs. X-Arcade (Opinions Needed)
« Reply #16 on: March 25, 2004, 05:06:39 pm »
...I have two XArcades. One of which I've modified with an Oscar Spinner Pro 3 Spinner.

I'm extremely pleased with both of them and I've never had a problem with either.

For me personally I have them hooked up with my PC, Dreamcast and XBox and I couldn't do that with any other prebuilt panel. I've also used the programming function a lot.

You say you only want it for mame now...but after you've played with it for a while...you may want to add other emulators/games etc. that may require re-programming....that's something to consider.

I love 'em both (My XArcade's).....but I'm sure you'll be happy with whatever you ultimately buy.

my 2 cents.

MameMaster!  8)
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Re:Hot Rod SE vs. X-Arcade (Opinions Needed)
« Reply #17 on: March 25, 2004, 06:19:43 pm »
The only thing that pissed me off is that when I had my keyboard hooked up through the XA, I had all sorts of typing problems. It was frustrating. But it was a simple fix; unplug the XA from the PC and plug in the keyboard.

I also had these issues at times.  I wound up buying one of those adapters that convert ps/2 mice and keyboards into usb.  I also use it for other devices, and it works great.  This also allows me to hotswap my controller, as I have more than one computer.

http://www.xkeys.com/ymouse/whym08.php

Jim